Nurturing Positive Relationships
No matter how independent you may be, it’s still important to build healthy relationships with immediate and extended family members, friends, or coworkers. Research suggests that when we foster connections with those around us, it can:
- Improve our self-esteem
- Make us more cooperative, empathetic, and trusting
- Strengthen our immune systems
- Extend our lives
- Reduce our risk of developing anxiety and depression
How to Build Healthy Relationships
Different types of relationships require different approaches. For instance, you should likely treat your coworkers differently than your immediate family members. With that said, taking the following steps may help you to nurture positive relationships with many people in your life:
- Use healthy communication skills, such as talking through issues (rather than letting them fester) and actively listening to the other person.
- Find ways to express that you appreciate the other person’s efforts.
- Follow through on your promises.
- Express your feelings and needs so resentments do not build up.
- Be sensitive to the other person’s emotions and treat them with compassion, especially when they’re going through a difficult time.
- Remain open-minded and avoid jumping to conclusions.
- Set aside time to spend with the other person that’s free of distractions.
Start Improving Your Relationships
As noted above, it’s important to have healthy relationships in your life, so if you need help fostering connections, please book an appointment here.
Rebecca Steele & Smart Therapy™
Meet Rebecca Steele, MA, MSW, RSW— She offers psychotherapy and counselling services in Kitchener-Waterloo, and all across Ontario virtually through telehealth sessions.
With a decade of experience as a seasoned psychotherapist, she excels in delivering personalized 1:1 individual therapy sessions. Her expertise extends to guiding adults through their emotional landscape, tackling everything from grief, depression, and trauma to the complexities of life changes, boundary concerns, low self-esteem, relationship stress, and many types of anxieties—eg. general anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, phobias, anxious attachment styles, and OCD.
Rebecca’s approach to therapy is called Smart Therapy™: Insight- Driven Depth Therapy. She provides a diverse range of psychotherapy treatments, encompassing traditional talk therapy such as Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT, DBT), Psychoanalytic and Jungian Therapy, and Dream Analysis.
Ready to dive into the world of compassionate counselling? To explore further details about Rebecca’s online counseling services in Kitchener-Waterloo, please click here!